i think the seat idea is great but delta should worry about there long time customers and how they treat them. like trying to get award seats not having one ore two available at a time and having all the fees when you want to change a free seat.

Posted By carl casagrande on April 7, 2008, 12:25 PM

It's about time some airline took the initiative to address the most basic of flyer comforts -- the seat -- that has remained essentially unchanged, and needlessly uncomfortable in economy for 30 years. Most important on long-haul flights -- international and coast-to-coast. This idea appears innovative, and has the potential if done right to significantly increase flyer comfort. Now how long will it take to implement?

Posted By Fred Spencer on April 7, 2008, 1:07 PM

It looks great;however, the challenges are the same, just on an angle. I do not see the use of 2 armrests, unles your arms are bent at the elbow. Would it be easier to embark or de-plane?

Posted By sharon viggiano on April 7, 2008, 1:17 PM

The staggered seats look terrific!!! No need to guess why they didn't show a whole section of rows of staggered seats is there? Anyone want to guess what the pitch of the rows will be?

Posted By karen on April 7, 2008, 1:17 PM

First of all, Carl, stick to the subject and go vent to yourself in the mirror.

Second, of course having two arm rests would be wonderful.... Have you ever been stuck in the middle seat between two other hefty blokes? I thought not.

I like the idea and it would make me think about the comfort compared to the config on all those international UA flights I use .... as a Premier Exec or 1K flyer for the last 15 years.

Posted By Ed F on April 7, 2008, 1:27 PM

The seats are easier to get in and out of because the fold up.

Posted By Ann on April 7, 2008, 1:34 PM

One bad note, if you should happen and luck out with a whole row to yourself, you won't be able to raise the the arm rests and stretch out for a nap.

Posted By Weyland on April 7, 2008, 1:59 PM

They did not address the most important issue -- the space between seats. I have long legs and have to sit with my legs separated or kinked to one side or the other -- which gets damn tiresome on a long trip.

Posted By Cletus J. Holtgrefe on April 7, 2008, 3:17 PM

It does address legroom (well knee room):

"it has a contoured shoulder area and offers up to five inches extra knee space compared to standard seating designs of the same pitch." (from the article that is linked).

I think it's a great idea, really revolutionary for coach. I'm so tired about hearing about these enhanced coach interiors with mood lighting and bigger storage bins for your carry-ons. That doesn't solve the fundamental problem of trying to cram too many people into too small of a space. This new seat design should actually help. Being 6'5", I'm excited.

I am sad that only Delta will have it at first (since they don't really go where I need to go), but hopefully the other airlines will follow suit. Good for Delta for having the foresight though.

Posted By Ted on April 7, 2008, 4:44 PM

Having flown on Delta once before, and eaten their food (or rather, some of it since part of the fruit and salad was actually decaying), it would take more than a redesigned seat to get me to buy another ticket from them.

Posted By ian chandler on April 7, 2008, 5:01 PM

Now how about limiting how far the seats can recline so the passenger in the next row doesn't get someone's head in their face!

Posted By Doug B on April 7, 2008, 7:31 PM

One thing: how much will this configuration add to the already high cost of airline travel? Will this configuration mean more seat room, so that you can sleep without kinking your neck or trying to squash your elbows into your body so you stay upright?

It's a wait-and-see situation.

Posted By SBR on April 7, 2008, 9:59 PM

It's nice to see someone (anyone) think about ways to make the seats more comfortable. However, what about families flying together .. or a single parent flying with a child. If they have paid for a second seat, then the child will be at an awkward angle for them to take care of. It's a nice concept, but not practical in design. Let's try for something better.

Posted By LissaMo on April 8, 2008, 4:37 PM

I like the new seat idea. To me, part of comfort is how pleasant the seating area looks and this looks mighty nice.

A couple of other comments. I don't see how having the seats staggered makes it any easier to to exit from the window seat; after all the seats in front are parallel at each row so where's the increase?

As far as redeeming ff miles, twice in the past 6 months I have been able to get business class seats RT to Europe with no real problems. And these were at the lower business class requirement of 100k miles instead of the peak 200k miles. And I recently got a rt coach fare from El Paso to Madrid for less that 500 dollars, It was of course because it was not peak season. I think the same principle applies to getting FF rewards.Ifyou want two free seats during the middle of peak Summer travel, you are not going to get them.

Food quality varies widely even on the same airline. I had a meal several months ago in Delta business class whose principal ingredient, I swear, was cardboard. Bland, boring and tasteless. Recently on a Delta transatlantic flight the meal was something close to delicious. Go figure.

Gentle readers, don't get me wrong. Like most of you, I think airlines Bite the Big One. There are, however, ways to make the system work for you.

Although this is not really germane to the topic, it scares the hell outta me that Delta (to me one of the better airlines) is merging with NorthWORST (almost universially agreed to be almost as bad as Aeroflot or Air India) Guess which set of standards will probably prevail... Northworst still flies these decrepit DC (death crate) 9s that are over forty years old. They creak. They moan. They scare.

Posted By Allan H on April 18, 2008, 10:35 PM

Who is delta trying to kid?

The pitch looks about 2 inches shorter than the current impossible to sit in pitch.

The seat back doesn't recline; try sleeping in that for a flight across the pacific.

It will create mayhem in a true emergency situation where the plane is filled with smoke and visibility nonexistant; the window seat person needs to pray early!

Thanks for the warning.

Posted By contplat on August 2, 2008, 12:24 AM